In print and online

It's been a busy period for Terry and I, as you've gathered from the dearth of blog posts these last months. And we've got a lot of work being published to prove it, from a small 'Up Next' piece on Abu Dhabi in the September edition of National Geographic Traveler to half a dozen eco-experiences I wrote about in Rough Guide's Clean Breaks book. I saw our first edition Travellers Northern Italy guidebook for the first time in a bookshop in Dubai the other day too and got exhausted just looking at it - that was a tough trip. Although I know you don't believe me. We've always written for in-flight magazines, but we've been doing a lot more writing for them these past few months. If you're wondering why, it's because it's fun, the editors are lovely, easy to work with and respond to emails, it's nice to submit a story and see it in print a month or two later, and they pay on time. In September's Storytelling issue of Gulf Air's in-flight magazine Gulf Life, we have features on Abu Shady, Syria's last hakawati or professional storyteller and a review on the Sheraton Aleppo; while in the October issue, we have articles on Syrian sculptor Mustafa Ali; a new Damascus jazz duo comprised of opera star Rasha Razk and pianist Ghazwan Zerkli; and funky Zen bar in Damascus with its fabulous views. All feature Terry's gorgeous photos of course, as does a story on Doha Tribeca Film Festival director - he shot the stunning portrait of Amanda Palmer in the lobby of Doha's W hotel. We've got a bunch of stories in this month's issue of Jazeera's in-flight J Mag too, and in MPI's One Plus magazine a profile on Emirati Ali Al Saloom who is changing the way visitors to Abu Dhabi experience the UAE.

Our Italy books hit the shelves!

I almost forgot to tell you... as my regular Cool Travel Guide readers know, we spent a lot of time in Italy last year researching and photographing first editions of new travel guidebooks, starting with a month in Calabria, then a month in Milan, followed by more than a month in the Italian Lakes region and Northern Italy. Our Calabria book written for the Thomas Cook Travellers series hit the shelves in late April (see this post), and our Northern Italy book for the same series will be released in a couple of weeks (you can buy it here). While we're proud of all of our Italian books - Terry shot beautiful photos for them and we put a lot of work into researching and writing them, a book that we're especially proud of (it took even more blood, sweat and tears during particularly challenging circumstances), is our book released last month on the Italian Lakes, including Milan and Po Valley Towns, which we wrote for Footprint's new Italia series. Do have a flick through them when you're next in a bookshop. And don't hesitate to let me know if you ever need tips on travel in Italy.

The Cool Travel Guide to the Italian Lakes

We were surprised during our recent research trip in Italy to find that after Venice and Rome the country's next most popular travel destination seemed to be Sirmione, a small walled town on a tiny peninsula, accessed by a drawbridge across the moat of a castle on gorgeous Lake Garda. It's a place you rarely read about in travel magazines and yet its cobblestone streets, hotel sun decks and narrow beaches were crammed with sunburnt tourists. While the rest of Italy may have seen far fewer Americans than usual (due to the devalued dollar and stateside recession), the Lakes weren't feeling the dramatic drop in numbers of US visitors that other parts of Italy were. The Clooney factor played a part on Lake Como of course (more on that later), however, the waterfront towns and mesmerizing villages on the other lakes, especially Lakes Maggiore, Lugano and Orta, were buzzing with foreign visitors. Irish, Australians and Russians in particular descended on Italy's most romantic of destinations. Want to find out why? Here's a quick cool travel guide to Italy's alluring lakes:
* Lake Orta (pictured) - the most enchanting and our favorite, it's also one of the smallest lakes, and one of the most exclusive, with elegant private villas gracing its shores and only wooden row boats to cause ripples on its tranquil waters. Three reasons to visit: the magical fairy-tale hotel Villa Crespi and its sublime Michelin two-starred restaurant, the pedestrian-only medieval village of Orta San Giulo, and pretty postcard-perfect Isola San Giulo opposite.
* Lake Como - aside from George Clooney, other handsome stars include the city of Como itself (very elegant with great restaurants and good shopping), pretty Bellagio at the end of a peninsula, with an array of grand hotels and superb restaurants, including Villa Serbelloni; the elegant waterfront village of Menaggio, Grand Hotel Tremezzo, and lush lakeside botanical gardens such as those at Villa Carlotta.
* Lake Garda - known more these days for its fishing, watersports (especially windsurfing) and theme parks (Gardaland), Lake Garda was once more infamously known as the home of Salo, the capital of Mussolini's puppet-state. Boasting its fair share of genteel lakeside towns (namely Salo, Gardone Riviera and Sirmione), elegant villa hotels (Villa Feltrinelli), and sublime Michelin-starred restaurants (Villa Fiordaliso), it's also home to one of the whackiest house-museums around, Il Vittoriale, which once belonged to eccentric and flamboyant writer-poet Gabriele d'Annunzio.
* Lake Maggiore - a massive lake (as its name indicates) that's famous for its islands, Isola Borromee, Isola Madre, Isola Bella and Isole di Brissago; while not as pretty as the other lakes, it's still enormously popular with Italians and northern Europeans; the beautiful village of Cannobio with its waterfront lined with restaurants and cafes is the highlight, followed by Verbania with its breathakingly beautiful gardens at Villa Taranto.
When to go: summer is when the lakes are at their most beautiful and is the most popular time, but it's also the most crowded; spring and autumn are also lovely periods; in winter the lakes are misty and moody, but many hotels and restaurants are closed.
How to get there: fly into airports at Milan (Malpensa is closest for Como, Orta and Maggiore and is served by most major international airlines) or Bergamo (served by myriad low-cost airlines and situated between Lakes Como and Garda) then hire a car. Your own transport is essential to really explore the lakes.
What to do: spend your days driving around the lakes (they're enormous so allow a minimum of 2-3 days for each), taking boat trips around the lakes (public ferries run frequently and are affordable; car ferries less affordable but handy; taxi boats expensive but memorable); strolling elaborately landscaped botanical gardens; reading a book in the many lakeside parks; enjoying apertivi at a waterfront bar as you savour the sunset; and lingering over a long dinner as you watch the moonlight reflect upon the water.
Where to stay: the lakes are home to some exquisite and often opulent waterside hotels; we stayed at Albergo Terminus at Como; Villa Crespi at Lake Orta; Villa Serbelloni at Bellagio; and Grand Hotel Gardone on Lake Garda.

Inspiring Italy and The Grand Tour

We've been on the road in Northern Italy for a couple of weeks doing guidebook research and we're both utterly exhausted and yet completely stimulated. How can we not be inspired in a country like Italy where we're surrounded with such history and culture, art and architecture? Wherever we drive, it's not long before we come across a Medieval tower, a Renaissance palazzo, or a Gothic church. Poppies and ruins may have moved the 19th century travellers, but for me it's lakeside geraniums and leaning towers. As I write, the bells are ringing in the 12th century tower of a church I can see out our window. It's easy to understand why The Grand Tour-ists treated the country as their finishing school. There's no better place to be stirred by the beauty of the surroundings and be motivated to learn. And that was what The Grand Tour was about after all - just take a look at this wonderful Getty exhibition on The Grand Tour. While the term may be hip once again (and perhaps we played some tiny part in that when we started writing our travel blog Grantourismo two years ago for Charles and Marie?), these days it seems to be thrown about and attached to any extended sojourn or backpacking trip without any real understanding of what it means. The New York Times' Frugal Traveller, Matt Gross, claims his current 12 week jaunt across Europe is some kind of reimagining of the classic Grand Tour, and as interesting as Matt's posts can be, his main concern seems to be staying within his €100 budget each day. His trip's link to The Grand Tour is tenuous and he seems to be coming away from his experiences of destinations having learned little more than how to hitchhike or find the best budget eatery or pensione. The Grand Tour was about so much more. It was about being inspired by history, beauty, art and literature, but most of all it was about learning, about becoming cultured, civilized, cosmopolitan, about getting to know the world.